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Q3

F1’s political war over qualifying looks set to be resolved, as the governing body seem poised to return to the 2015 format. Fans, media and the teams have been lobbying to scrap the much maligned elimination qualifying format after two hugely unsuccessful sessions in Australia and Bahrain. Despite two weeks of political gridlock, common sense has prevailed and it seems that Saturday’s will once again end in a crescendo.

As social media was meant to be winding down following a fascinating second day of winter testing, Twitter was instead whipped up into a frenzy last night, as news of a radical and imminent change to the qualifying format broke. During a meeting of the F1 Commission, the teams have decided to overhaul the qualifying hour, introducing an elimination style session which is expected to be implemented for this season.

As the sun set and the lights took over, it was Lewis Hamilton who once again lit up the timing screens on a Saturday, to claim a fourth consecutive pole position and his first in Bahrain. However, Mercedes’ evening was rather dampened, when Sebastian Vettel managed to edge Nico Rosberg off of the front row in Q3. In fact, a cautious Rosberg was fortunate to retain P3, as both Kimi Raikkonen and Valtteri Bottas both threatened to displace him. Regardless, the stage is set for an epic race tomorrow, as both Ferrari’s have placed themselves well and truly in play for the race win.

(c) Kyran Gibbons. All Rights Reserved. KGibbsF1 is not affiliated with Formula 1, Formula One Management, Formula One Administration, Formula One Licensing BV or any other subsidiary associated with the official Formula One governing organizations or their shareholders. Official Formula One information can be found at www.formula1.com.